Golf can be a challenging sport, even for professionals. For most people, acquiring a high level of skill and consistency in golf requires regular practice, far beyond the time available for actually playing the game on a golf course. Various golf practice devices have been created to accommodate golfers' need to practice, including golf mats. A golf mat typically includes a piece of artificial turf in a frame or holder.
Providing a golf mat that simulates hitting off of real grass presents engineering challenges. Hitting a golf ball with an iron, if done correctly, requires the club head to impact the golf ball on the down swing, just before the club head passes through the lowest point of the arc of the swing. During real play on a golf course, the club head should typically swing through and scoop out a divot or small clump of turf. Golf mats however are used repeatedly, with the club head impacting the same mat with every swing. For this and other reasons, providing a golf mat that allows for taking a divot out of the mat is not viable. Consequently, golf mats have tried to simulate the feel of the taking a divot. Golf mat designs have been proposed that allow the artificial turf piece to shift under impact, to simulate hitting off of real grass. Although allowing the artificial turf piece to shift is useful, disadvantages remain with these types of designs.